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At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources

USGS1997

Testing prediction methods: Earthquake clustering versus the Poisson model

Testing earthquake prediction methods requires statistical techniques that compare observed success to random chance. One technique is to produce simulated earthquake catalogs and measure the relative success of predicting real and simulated earthquakes. The accuracy of these tests depends on the validity of the statistical model used to simulate the earthquakes. This study tests the effect of clustering in the statistical earthquake model on the results. Three simulation models were used to produce significance levels for a VLF earthquake prediction method. As the degree of simulated clustering increases, the statistical significance drops. Hence, the use of a seismicity model with insufficient clustering can lead to overly optimistic results. A successful method must pass the statistical tests with a model that fully replicates the observed clustering. However, a method can be rejected based on tests with a model that contains insufficient clustering.

Geophysical Research Letters↗

USGS1988

Description and testing of three moisture sensors for measuring surface wetness on carbonate building stones

Three moisture sensors were tested as a means for determining the surface wetness on carbonate building stones exposed to conditions that produce deposition of moisture. A relative-humidity probe, a gypsum-coated circuit grid, and a limestone-block resistor were tested as sensors for determining surface wetness. Sensors were tested under laboratory conditions of constant relative humidity and temperature and also under on-site conditions of variable relative humidity and temperature for eight weeks at Newcomb, NY. Laboratory tests indicated that relative humidity alone did not cause sensors to become saturated with water. However, the rates of drying indicated by the sensors after an initial saturation were inversely related to the relative humidity. On-site testing of the relative-humidity probe and the gypsum-coated ciruit grid indicated that they respond to a diurnal wetting and drying cycle; the limestone-block resistor responded only to rainfall.

Review of Scientific Instruments↗

USGS2012

Evaluation of near-critical overdamping effects in slug-test response

A slug test behaves as a harmonic oscillator, subject to both inertial effects and viscous damping. When viscous and inertial forces are closely balanced, the system is nearly critically damped, and water-level recovery is affected by inertial effects, but does not exhibit oscillation. These effects were investigated by use of type curves, generated both by modification of Kipp's (1985) computer program and by use of the Butler-Zhan (2004) model. Utility of the type curves was verified by re-analysis of the Regina slug test previously analyzed by Kipp. These type curves indicate that near-critical inertial effects result in early-time delayed water-level response followed by merger with, or more rapid recovery than, response for the fully damped case. Because of this early time response, slug tests in the moderately over-damped range are best analyzed using log-log type curves of (1 − H / H 0 ) vs. Tt / . Failure to recognize inertial effects in slug test data could result in an over-estimate of transmissivity, and a too-small estimate of storage coefficient or too-large estimate of well skin. However, application of the widely used but highly empirical Hvorslev (1951) method to analyze both the Regina slug test and type-curve generated data indicate that such analyses provide T values within a factor of 2 of the true value.

Groundwater↗

USGS2017

Molecular testing of adult Pacific salmon and trout (Oncorhynchus spp.) for several RNA viruses demonstrates widespread distribution of piscine orthoreovirus in Alaska and Washington

This research was initiated in conjunction with a systematic, multiagency surveillance effort in the United States (U.S.) in response to reported findings of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) RNA in British Columbia, Canada. In the systematic surveillance study reported in a companion paper, tissues from various salmonids taken from Washington and Alaska were surveyed for ISAV RNA using the U.S.-approved diagnostic method, and samples were released for use in this present study only after testing negative. Here, we tested a subset of these samples for ISAV RNA with three additional published molecular assays, as well as for RNA from salmonid alphavirus (SAV), piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV) and piscine orthoreovirus (PRV). All samples ( n = 2,252; 121 stock cohorts) tested negative for RNA from ISAV, PMCV, and SAV. In contrast, there were 25 stock cohorts from Washington and Alaska that had one or more individuals test positive for PRV RNA; prevalence within stocks varied and ranged from 2% to 73%. The overall prevalence of PRV RNA-positive individuals across the study was 3.4% (77 of 2,252 fish tested). Findings of PRV RNA were most common in coho ( Oncorhynchus kisutch Walbaum) and Chinook ( O. tshawytscha Walbaum) salmon.

Alaska, Washington↗

USGS1999

The insignificance of statistical significance testing

Despite their use in scientific journals such as The Journal of Wildlife Management , statistical hypothesis tests add very little value to the products of research. Indeed, they frequently confuse the interpretation of data. This paper describes how statistical hypothesis tests are often viewed, and then contrasts that interpretation with the correct one. I discuss the arbitrariness of P-values, conclusions that the null hypothesis is true, power analysis, and distinctions between statistical and biological significance. Statistical hypothesis testing, in which the null hypothesis about the properties of a population is almost always known a priori to be false, is contrasted with scientific hypothesis testing, which examines a credible null hypothesis about phenomena in nature. More meaningful alternatives are briefly outlined, including estimation and confidence intervals for determining the importance of factors, decision theory for guiding actions in the face of uncertainty, and Bayesian approaches to hypothesis testing and other statistical practices.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗

USGS2009

Proceedings of the Guidelines for Seismometer Testing Workshop, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 9-10 May 2005 ("GST2")

Testing and specification of seismic and earthquake-engineering sensors and recorders has been marked by significant variations in procedures and selected parameters. These variations cause difficulty in comparing such specifications and test results. In July 1989, and again in May 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey hosted international public/private workshops with the goal of defining widely accepted guidelines for the testing of seismological inertial sensors, seismometers, and accelerometers. This document reports the Proceedings of the 2005 workshop and includes as Appendix 6 the report of the 1989 workshop. In a future document, we will attempt to collate and rationalize a single set of formal guidelines for testing and specifying seismic sensors, supplementing Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) guidelines on instrumentation likely used by ANSS as its standard for verification, acceptance, and intermittent testing, as well as for responses to ANSS instrument requisitions.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2011

Hydrostratigraphic interpretation of test-hole and geophysical data, Upper Loup River Basin, Nebraska, 2008-10

Nebraska's Upper Loup Natural Resources District is currently (2011) participating in the Elkhorn-Loup Model to understand the effect of various groundwater-management scenarios on surface-water resources. During Phase 1 of the Elkhorn-Loup Model, a lack of subsurface geological information in the Upper Loup Natural Resources District, hereafter referred to as the upper Loup study area, was identified as a gap in current knowledge that needed to be addressed. To improve the understanding of the hydrogeology of the upper Loup study area, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Loup Natural Resources District and the University of Nebraska Conservation and Survey Division, collected and described the lithology of drill cuttings from nine test holes, and concurrently collected borehole geophysical data to identify the base of the High Plains aquifer. Surface geophysical data also were collected using time-domain electromagnetic (TDEM) and audio-magnetotelluric (AMT) methods at test-hole locations and between test holes, as a quick, non-invasive means of identifying the base of the High Plains aquifer. Test-hole drilling has indicated greater variation in the base-of-aquifer elevation in the western part of the upper Loup study area than in the eastern part reflecting a number of deep paleovalleys incised into the Brule Formation of the White River Group. TDEM measurements within the upper Loup study area were shown to be effective as virtual boreholes in mapping out the base of the aquifer. TDEM estimates of the base of aquifer were in good accordance with existing test-hole data and were able to improve the interpreted elevation and topology of the base of the aquifer. In 2010, AMT data were collected along a profile, approximately 12 miles (19 kilometers) in length, along Whitman Road, in Grant and Cherry Counties. The AMT results along Whitman Road indicated substantial variability in the elevation of the base of the High Plains aquifer and in the distribution of highly permeable zones within the aquifer.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2015

Laboratory evaluation of the pressure water level data logger manufactured by Infinities USA, Inc.: results of pressure and temperature tests

The Pressure Water Level Data Logger manufactured by Infinities USA, Inc., was evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility for conformance with the manufacturer’s stated accuracy specifications for measuring pressure throughout the device’s operating temperature range and with the USGS accuracy requirements for water-level measurements. The Pressure Water Level Data Logger (Infinities Logger) is a submersible, sealed, water-level sensing device with an operating pressure range of 0 to 11.5 feet of water over a temperature range of −18 to 49 degrees Celsius. For the pressure range tested, the manufacturer’s accuracy specification of 0.1 percent of full scale pressure equals an accuracy of ±0.138 inch of water. Three Infinities Loggers were evaluated, and the testing procedures followed and results obtained are described in this report. On the basis of the test results, the device is poorly compensated for temperature. For the three Infinities Loggers, the mean pressure differences varied from –4.04 to 5.32 inches of water and were not within the manufacturer’s accuracy specification for pressure measurements made within the temperature-compensated range. The device did not meet the manufacturer’s stated accuracy specifications for pressure within its temperature-compensated operating range of –18 to 49 degrees Celsius or the USGS accuracy requirements of no more than 0.12 inch of water (0.01 foot of water) or 0.10 percent of reading, whichever is larger. The USGS accuracy requirements are routinely examined and reported when instruments are evaluated at the Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility. The estimated combined measurement uncertainty for the pressure cycling test was ±0.139 inch of water, and for temperature, the cycling test was ±0.127 inch of water for the three Infinities Loggers.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2015

Efficacy of Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf-CL145A) spray dried powder for controlling zebra mussels adhering to test substrates

A mobile bioassay trailer was used to assess the efficacy of Pseudomonas fluorescens ( Pf -CL145A) spray dried powder (SDP) formulation for controlling zebra mussels ( Dreissena polymorpha ) from two midwestern lakes: Lake Carlos (Alexandria, Minnesota) and Shawano Lake (Shawano, Wisconsin). The effects of SDP exposure concentration and exposure duration on zebra mussel survival were evaluated along with the evaluation of a benthic injection application technique to reduce the amount of SDP required to induce zebra mortality. Groups of zebra mussels were collected from each lake and allowed to adhere to test substrates for at least 15 days before exposure to SDP. Two independent trials were completed at each lake: (1) a whole water column (WWC) application trial was used to evaluate the effects of SDP exposure concentration and exposure duration on zebra mussel survival; and (2) a benthic injection (BI) application trial in which the SDP was injected into the test tanks to determine the efficacy of a benthic injection application technique to reduce the amount of SDP required to induced zebra mussel mortality. Three exposure durations (6, 9, and 12 hours) were evaluated in the WWC trials and a 12-hour exposure duration was evaluated in the BI trials. All trials contained zebra mussels which were removed at the completion of each exposure duration, consolidated into wire mesh cages, and held in the lake for approximately 30 days before being assessed for survival. For all trials, treatment was assigned to each test tank according to a randomized block design ( n = 3 test tanks per treatment). The treatment groups included (1) an untreated control group, (2) a group that received an application of 50 milligrams of SDP per liter (mg SDP/L), and (3) a group that received an application of 100 mg SDP/L. During the BI trials, SDP was administered to achieve the desired exposure concentration in the bottom 50 percent (175 L) of the test tank. All exposure concentrations are reported as active ingredient. Approximately 30 days after exposure, zebra mussels were sorted into live and dead, and enumerated. Mean survival of zebra mussels in control treatments exceeded 95 percent. Mean survival of zebra mussels in the Lake Carlos WWC SDP-treated groups ranged from 0.5 to 2.1 percent and when compared at the same exposure duration, no difference was detected in survival between the 50 and 100 milligrams per liter (mg/L) treatment groups. Similarly, mean survival of zebra mussels in the Shawano Lake WWC SDP-treated groups ranged from 2.0 to 12.6 percent and when compared at the same exposure duration, no difference was detected in survival between the 50- and 100-mg/L treatment groups. Mean survival of zebra mussels in the Lake Carlos BI trial SDP-treated groups did not differ ( p = 0.93) and was 18.1 and 18.0 percent in the 50- and 100-mg/L treatment groups, respectively. Mean survival of zebra mussels in the Shawano Lake BI trial SDP-treated groups differed ( p < 0.01) and was 2.9 and 0.9 percent in the 50- and 100-mg/L treatment groups, respectively. Survival of zebra mussels assigned to the SDP-treated groups in the Lake Carlos WWC trial (12-hour exposure duration) differed from the survival of zebra mussels assigned to the SDP-treated groups in the Lake Carlos BI trial; however, after modification of the BI application technique, no difference ( p = 0.22) was detected between the survival of zebra mussel in the Shawano Lake WWC (12-hour exposure duration) and BI trials.

Minnesota, Wisconsin↗

USGS2015

Hydraulic laboratory testing of Sontek-IQ Plus

The SonTek-IQ Plus (IQ Plus) is a bottom-mounted Doppler instrument used for the measurement of water depth and velocity. Evaluation testing of the IQ Plus was performed to assess the accuracy of water depth, discharge, and velocity measurements. The IQ Plus met the manufacturer’s specifications and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) standard for depth accuracy measurement when the unit was installed, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, at 0 degrees pitch and roll. However, because of the limited depth testing conducted, the depth measurement is not recommended as a primary stage measurement. The IQ Plus was tested in a large indoor tilting flume in a 5-foot (ft) wide, approximately 2.3-ft deep section with mean velocities of 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 ft per second. Four IQ Plus instruments using firmware 1.52 tested for water-discharge accuracy using SonTek’s “theoretical” discharge method had a negative bias of -2.4 to -11.6 percent when compared with discharge measured with a SonTek FlowTracker and the midsection discharge method. The IQ Pluses with firmware 1.52 did not meet the manufacturer’s specification of +/-1 percent for measuring velocity. Three IQ Pluses using firmware 1.60 and SonTek’s “theoretical” method had a difference of -1.6 to -7.9 percent when compared with discharge measured with a SonTek FlowTracker and the midsection method. Mean-velocity measurements with firmware 1.60 met the manufacturer’s specification and Price Type AA meter accuracy requirements when compared with FlowTracker measurements. Because of the instrument’s velocity accuracy, the SonTek-IQ Plus with firmware 1.60 is considered acceptable for use as an index velocity instrument for the USGS. The discharge computed by the SonTek-IQ Plus during the tests had a substantial negative bias and will not be as accurate as a discharge computed with the index velocity method. The USGS does not recommend the use of undocumented computation methods, such as SonTek’s “theoretical” method for computing discharge.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2016

Evaluation of the Storm 3 data logger manufactured by WaterLOG/Xylem Incorporated—Results of bench, temperature, and field deployment testing

The Storm 3 is a browser-based data logger manufactured by WaterLOG/Xylem Incorporated that operates over a temperature range of −40 to 60 degrees Celsius (°C). A Storm logger with no built-in telemetry (Storm3-00) and a logger with built-in cellular modem (Storm3-03) were evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) for conformance to the manufacturer’s specifications with bench tests, for recording data over the device’s operating temperature range with temperature chamber tests, and for field performance with an outdoor deployment test. The procedures followed and the results obtained from the testing are described in this publication. The device met most of the manufacturer’s stated specifications. An exception was power consumption, which was about 10 percent above the manufacturer’s specifications. It was also observed that enabling WiFi doubles the Storm 3’s power consumption. In addition, several logging errors were made by two units during deployment testing, but it could not be determined whether these errors were the fault of the Storm or of an attached sensor.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1965

Aquifer-test compilation for northern California

This report is the fourth of a series, the purpose of which is to flake available, in standard tabulur form, the results of aquifer tests that have been made by various private and public agencies in California. The scope of the compilation is to describe systematically, in a form agreed upon by the California Department of Water Resources end. the Geological Survey, the (1) test location, (1) pumping data, (3) well data, and (4) summary of results. The results of these tests occasionally have been published, but usually they have been used only to obtain other information. Consequently, the results of aquifer tests have not always been readily available. This report was prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, in cooperation with the California Department of Water Resources. It tabulates, through April 1965, the tests that were available for northern California.

California↗

USGS1970

Schmidt hammer test method for field determination of physical properties of zeolitized tuff

The L-type Schmidt hammer is a hand-carried impact instrument that was originally designed and developed to test the compressive strength of concrete. When properly impacted against a stiff material the device measures the amount of rebound of a spring-loaded hammer, with the rebound of the hammer being directly proportional to the strength of the material tested. Application of this instrument to rock, specifically water-saturated zeolitized tuff, is demonstrated through a set of correlation diagrams that relate Schmidt hammer rebound values, obtained from core samples and from the sites where samples were taken, to physical properties measured on rock samples in the laboratory. The properties include compressive strength, compressional and shear velocities, and dynamic and static Young's shear and bulk moduli. The correlation diagrams apply only to zeolitized tuff of the type found at the Nevada Test Site in its natural state (freshly excavated). These diagrams enable the user of the L-type Schmidt hammer to immediately obtain values of physical properties of such rocks in place, a convenience desirable where conventional sampling is not feasible or is impossible, and when results are required on short notice. The charts apply to L-type hammers that are calibrated to a nominal rebound value of 74. Calibration is made on a 35-pound-(16-kg-) test anvil with a steel-hardened test surface of Brinell hardness = 500 kg/mm 2 .

Open-File Report↗

USGS1970

Hydraulic tests in hole UA-1 and water inflow into an underground chamber, Amchitka Island, Alaska

Hole UA-1 was center punched (a small-diameter exploratory hole drilled ahead of the large-diameter emplacement hole) from 1,524.0 to 1,981.2 meters (5,000 to 6,500 feet) and hydraulically tested to determine an ideal location for mining a chamber. Fifteen zones were tested; minor amounts of water bypassed the packers during five of the tests. The tested intervals ranged in length from 37.5 meters (123 feet) to 211.5 meters (694 feet). For purposes of comparison relative specific capacities were calculated from comparable 60.4-meter (198-foot) intervals of tested rock, and ranged from 0.1162 cubic meters per day per meter (0.0065 gallons per minute per foot) of drawdown to 0.0039 cubic meters per day per meter (0.0002 gallons per minute per foot) of drawdown. The interval 1,745.0 to 1,836.4 meters (5,725 to 6,025 feet) appears to be the best location for mining a chamber so far as water inflow is concerned. This interval, 91.4 meters (300 feet), consists of about 27.4 meters (90 feet) of breccia and 64.0 meters (210 feet) of basalt. The inflow to a spherical chamber 18.3 meters (60 feet) in diameter and placed in the center of the proposed 91.4-meter (300-foot) interval, was calculated to be about 175 cubic meters per day (32 gallons per minute) after the first day and would stabilize at about 57 cubic meters per day (10.5 gallons per minute) after about 200 days.

Alaska↗

USGS1978

Drilling, construction, and testing of water-supply wells 21 and 22, White Sands Missle Range, Dona Ana County, New Mexico

During the spring and summer of 1976, two municipal-supply wells (designated as well 21 and well 22 - 2,000 feet apart) were drilled at the Post Headquarters area of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The design specifications for both wells called for 24-inch diameter surface casing cemented in place to a depth of about 430 feet, with 16-inch liner and slotted casing from the surface to a depth of about 700 feet. Each well was pumped continuously for 32 hours in a step-drawdown test. This test consisted of four steps, with discharge rates varying from about 500 to 1,150 gallons per minute. The drawdown test for well 21 gave an estimated transmissivity of 17,300 gallons per day per foot, and a final specific capacity of slightly less than 11 gallons per minute per foot of drawdown. The step-drawdown test and later drawdown and recovery test on well 22 gave an average transmissivity of 32,600 gallons per day per foot, and a final specific capacity of about 15 gallons per minute per foot of drawdown. The data collected indicated that the aquifer in the vicinity of well 22 is more permeable than the aquifer around well 21. Both wells furnish a satisfactory quantity of excellent-quality water. The dissolved-solids content of water from wells 21 and 22 is 232 and 301 mg/liter respectively. (Woodard-USGS)

Open-File Report↗

USGS1978

Hydrogeologic data for the Bear Creek subsurface-injection test site, St. Petersburg, Florida

Lithologic, hydraulic, geophysical, and water-quality data were collected at the Bear Creek subsurface-injection test site at St. Petersburg, FL. The data were collected to determine the feasibility of subsurface injection of storm runoff. An exploratory hole and five observation wells were constructed between October 1974 and April 1976. The lithology of the upper 185 feet at the test site is predominantly sand and marl. From 185 feet to 3,504 feet, limestone and dolomite predominate. Also , gypsum is present below 1.290 feet. Vertical intrinsic permeability, porosity, and compressibility of cores are reported. A 73-hour withdrawal test discharging 3,450 gallons per minute was run in the test injection well. At the site, chloride concentration in water from 192 to 340 feet, ranged from 150 to 680 milligrams per liter, and from 500 to 1,267 feet ranged from 16,000 to 20,000 milligrams per liter. Eleven additional wells near the test site were sampled for water quality. (Woodard-USGS)

Open-File Report↗

USGS1984

Geohydrologic and drill-hole data for test well USW H-3, Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada

Test well USW H-3 is one of a series of test wells drilled in and near the southwestern part of the Nevada Test Site for hydraulic testing, hydrologic monitoring, and geophysical logging. The work was performed in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage investigations. The well penetrated volcanic tuffs of Tertiary age to a depth of 1,219 meters. This report presents data collected to determine the hydraulic characteristics of rocks penetrated. Data on drilling operations, lithology, borehole geophysics, hydrologic monitoring, pumping, swabbing, and injection tests for the well are contained in this report. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗

USGS1994

Geologic and hydrologic data collected at test holes NC-6 and NC-11, Hatillo and Isabela, northwestern Puerto Rico

Test holes NC-6 and NC-11 were drilled in the municipalities of Hatillo and Isabela, respectively, as part of a study of the aquifers in the Northern Coastal Province of Puerto Rico. Test holes NC-6 and NC-11 were drilled to depths of 2,574 and 2,120 feet below land surface, respectively. Geologic and hydrologic data collected during drilling included continuous core, water-quality samples, water-level measurements, and estimates of aquifer yields from the water-bearing zones. Test hole NC-6 penetrated five formations ranging in age from late Oligocene to early Pliocene: the Lares Limestone, the Cibao Formation, the Los Puertos Formation, the Aymamon Limestone, and the Quebradillas Limestone. This test hole also penetrated a water-table aquifer and six artesian aquifer. Test hole NC-11 penetrated four formations ranging in age from late 01igocene to middle Miocene: the San Sebastian Formation, the Cibao Formation, the Los Puertos, and the Aymamon Limestone. A water-table aquifer and four artesian aquifers were penetrated by this well.

Open-File Report↗